David Pope's Charlie Hebdo cartoon goes viral on social media

In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shooting, the task of cartoonists is to keep doing what they do, focusing satire on those in power and those who seek to wield power in ugly ways like the gunmen, Canberra Times cartoonist David Pope says.

Whenhe heard about the attack, he drew a quick pencil sketch while watching the TV reports late on Wednesday night.

Pope was not alone. Cartoons were prevalent on social media as other cartoonists and supporters spoke out on behalf of the victims of the attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo, where four of France's most prominent satirical cartoonists were among the magazine's staffers and two police officers killed.

The hashtag #jesuischarlie, I am Charlie, quickly gained in popularity.

This sketch was widely circulated after appearing on the Instagram account '@Banksy', purporting to be by the reclusive artist, but was later revealed to have been created by 31-year-old French illustrator Lucille Clerc.